University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Head Coach Jeff Bower' Weekly News Conference
9/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Head Coach Jeff Bower?s Weekly News Conference
Opening Statement:
?I thought we played hard against
?We?ve got to be a much smarter football team.
?In the kicking game, Jasper Faulk had a big punt return. I?m not sure he made the right decision returning that, but it ended up for a big play and gave us great field position. I thought Luke Johnson had a good day punting the day and kicking off. We averaged 42 yards net punt, with two inside the 20-yard-line, which is pretty good. Our kickoff return was very average. We had a few chances, but we missed a block that would have resulted in a big play. The ones we returned were short kicks. We didn?t execute as well as we should have. Maybe a lot of it is because it?s early in the year, but we?ll learn from that. The biggest negative was our kickoff coverage. They had two returns for 97 yards and had an average starting field position at the 37-yard line. That is poor. We have to challenge some people and get better there.
?This football team has to improve. There are a number of things that we need to go back and work on. We have to be a better football team this week to win on Saturday.?
Players Of The Week:
?On offense, it was Anthony Perine. He played 34 snaps and graded 82 percent. He had three catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Gerald McRath was the defensive player of the week. He played 50 snaps and graded 70 percent. He had four tackles, one assist, a forced fumble, fumble recovery and an interception for a touchdown. On special teams, it was Luke Johnson. He had a 45.9 punt average and two kickoffs in the end zone.?
On
?They had a big win on the road at
On The Play Up Front On The Offensive And Defensive Line:
?We were average on offense. We did a good job of blocking and in our protection at times. All of our offensive linemen were probably average in the game. We got beat a few times with our protection. I was pleased with Chris Clark, with his first start. I thought he competed hard and he will be a good player for us. On the defensive line, I thought we made some improvement. I was most impressed with Tom Johnson. He really had a motor and played well. He did a lot of nice things. Up until the fourth quarter, we were pretty good at stopping the run. I don?t know if we got tired, maybe losing that week of conditioning affected us late in the game. We tackled poorly, which had an impact as well.?
On Robert Henderson:
?He played well and has moved into a starting position this week. He did a good job.?
On Other Depth Chart Changes:
?We don?t have anything else right now. I?m concerned about Caleb Hendrix. He went in the game for three plays and didn?t feel good. We?ve got to get him back, because he?s one of our best two cornerbacks. We will probably take the redshirt off Cornelius McGee and get him ready to play.?
On Antwon Courington's Catch:
?He could have reached down and caught that and maybe scored. I think he was concerned about catching the ball. I?d rather see him reach down and catch it at the knees, than going down and catching it with his body.?
On Larry Thomas? Screen Pass:
?It had a chance to go for a touchdown. I don?t fault Larry. The
On Looking Past McNeese State:
?I know that if we?re going to beat
On The Play Of The Running Backs:
?I don?t think they did a bad job. We didn?t run smart a few times. One time, we had a chance to make a big play, and we didn?t set a block up. If we run smart, we had a chance to make a big play. I thought both Cody Hull and Larry Thomas protected well. We did a good job of taking care of the football. The one turnover was a desperation throw late. That?s one key for us being a good offensive team, ball security.?
On The Play Of Jasper Faulk:
?He was active and played in a lot of snaps. If he?s going to play that much, we?ve got to get him some rest on special teams. He was very aggressive on punt returns, maybe overly aggressive. He started to make some better decisions. He showed up. He was one of our sprinters on our punt coverage and he didn?t do a good job, but I think he was tired. We made a change, with Ivory Bradshaw taking over and he did a good job. He played in a lot of snaps and was involved in a lot of special teams. We need to cut down on how much he does. He?s a ball player and wants to be on the field. He works hard and studies. I like having him on punt returns. He?s going to take the ball and run with it no matter where it was on the field. That?s not what I want him to do all the time, but that?s the kind of player he is. He wants to make plays and wants to win. He?s one of those guys that loves football.?
On Brandon Sumrall:
?He played well against
On Who Was Other Gunner With Ivory Bradshaw:
?It was Lance Moore, but we are going to make a change there. Lance did not have a good game doing that. Our sprinters have to be better.?
On The Play Of The Linebackers:
?I thought Gerald played well. Kevis Coley played well. I was disappointed in that penalty. He came off the field and I asked him if he did it, and he said ?yes sir.? Typical Kevis Coley, he will be honest with you. He made a mistake. He threw a rabbit punch in the pile. We were frustrated. He lost his poise and you can?t do that. I don?t know if he will lose this game. It hasn?t been confirmed yet. There was not a fight. It looks like he will be available for the whole game, but we?re waiting to hear. Wayne Hardy had an average game. He hurt his elbow, but will be ready to go. I don?t think we?ll be without anyone. We didn?t have any serious injuries in the game and that is a plus.?
